In a message that appears when starting up the game, EA states: “Due to a third party legal dispute, we must suspend Diego Maradona from appearing in FIFA Ultimate Team Packs, Ultimate Draft and the Soccer Aid World XI team. “As such, Diego Maradona Icon Items will no longer be made available in Packs, SBCs and FUT Draft, and their price range has been fixed until further notice. “We share our fans’ disappointment and hope to bring one of football’s greatest icons back in the game at some point in the future” (thanks VGC). Maradona, who passed away at the age of 60 in November 2020, previously featured in the FIFA 22 Ultimate Team game mode as a FUT Icon, with four separate Icon player items representing Maradona at different stages of his career. This news of Maradona’s removal from FIFA 22 is likely disappointing for fans of the Argentine icon, but perhaps not surprising. It was first reported in November that Diego Maradona’s former manager Stefano Ceci could not prove his claim over the legal rights of Maradona’s likeness, and as such didn’t have the power to sign documents with EA (something he ultimately did, regardless). It is currently believed that Maradona’s assets are owned by Matías Morla. Apparently Morla gained control of the Maradona brand in August 2020, in what sounds like a messy battle for control over the rights to one of the greatest footballers of all time. However, Morla’s company - Sattvica - was banned from using any of Maradona’s brands in March 2021 by two of Maradona’s daughters. This particular dispute was settled later that same year, but Maradona’s family are still fighting with Morla over who has the rights to the footballer’s branding and image.
